San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

'Thursday Night Football' broadcast produced graphic animation of Brock Purdy's surgery

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Sep 21, 2023 9:53 PM ET

Sports broadcasts, and especially football broadcasts, do not like to show replays of graphic or gruesome injuries. We were reminded of that on Monday night when ESPN declined to show the leg injury suffered by Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb.

Do you know what sports broadcasts are willing to show?

Dramatic and graphic animations on how reconstructive elbow surgeries work.

During Amazon's "Thursday Night Football" broadcast of the New York Giants-San Francisco 49ers game, they produced a wild animation that went into very graphic detail on the elbow surgery that 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy underwent during the offseason.

The Amazon Prime Video #TNF broadcast went all out with a UCL surgery animation (re: 49ers QB Brock Purdy). pic.twitter.com/LoTvIfPh42
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 22, 2023

That is probably better than showing the actual surgery, but at least now we know exactly what Purdy went through.

He was injured in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and underwent surgery to repair his elbow. He returned to the field in time for the 49ers' season-opening win against the Pittsburgh Steelers and played outstanding.

Entering play on Thursday the 49ers had yet to lose a game that Purdy has started and finished in his career.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

More must-reads: